Pickled Cabbage with Eggs

(Lahanalı Mıhlama)

2/3 cup pickled cabbage, chopped
~1/4 cup onion (I used red onion), thinly sliced
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or 1 tbsp butter
2 eggs
Paprika

Saute the onion in a skillet with olive oil until it's softened at low-medium heat. Add the cabbage and saute together for additional 2-3 minutes. Break the eggs over the top and sprinkle with paprika. When the egg white is cooked, remove it from the heat. Do not overcook the egg yolk!

Serve Pickled Cabbage with Eggs with freshly baked bread and Turkish Tea for brunch or lunch.

Quick Pickled Cabbage

(Günlük Lahana Turşusu - Adana)

Cabbage pieces with mostly thick veins; boiled without loss of hardness, drained, coarsely chopped

For the pickling liquid:
Wine vinegar
Mint, dry
1-2 garlic cloves, mashed with salt
Paprika
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Mix plenty of vinegar with mashed garlic and salt. Pour all over the lukewarm cabbages. Garnish with some paprika and plenty of mint. Drizzle a little bit olive oil just before serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 1-2 days.

They're the perfect side dishes to serve with the Turkish style cooked kidney beans, chickpeas or green lentils, etc.:)

*The thin leaves are not suitable for it, don't use them:)

Cabbage Rolls with Green Lentils

(Mercimekli Lahana Sarması)

1 large head cabbage or green kale or collard greens
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp canned crushed tomatoes
Warm water

Filling:
1/2 cup Turkish bulgur, small grain, washed, drained
3/4 cup lentils, soak in water overnight, rinsed, drained
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
3-4 green onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tsp red pepper paste
2 tbsp canned crushed tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
Salt

Garnish:
1/2 lemon juice
1 tsp crushed pepper

Core the cabbage, boil in a large pot with salted water until it's soft and pliable – for 8-10 minutes. Lift the cabbage from the hot water, allow it to drain a bit. Start peeling off the tender leaves.

Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl with a tablespoon. Cut off the hard parts at the center of the leaves (picture). Cut the leaves in medium sizes to fill them. Use a teaspoon to put the fillings on each leaf. First fold over the top, then the two sides (picture) and roll to close it up.

Line up all the rolls in a medium-size pot without big holes in between. Drizzle the olive oil on top. Place a small plate upside down over the rolls in order to prevent the rolls from unfolding while being cooked. Then pour enough hot water mixed with crushed tomatoes into the pot from the side. Cook at medium-low heat for about 25 minutes with the lid covered. If necessary, add a little more hot water.

* Don't throw the leftover coarse veins of cabbage, you can use them for the Quick Pickled Cabbage:)

Milechnick

(Mileçnik - Central Anatolia Region)

1 cup whole milk
1 cup whipping cream % 35
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour, all purpose
2 tbsp rice flour
1 egg + 3 egg yolks
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sultanas, floured

8x8x2 (2L) Pyrex dish, buttered with unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

Whisk all the ingredients with the egg beater. Then add the sultanas, stir. Pour into the buttered dish.

Place the dish on the middle rack and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is light golden colour. Let it cool down first. Then chill in the refrigerator. Sprinkle some powdered sugar and decorate with fruits before serving the dessert.

*Seljuk Turks

Bulgur Pilaf with Carrots and Leeks

(Pirçikli Aş - East Anatolia Region)

Pilaf Ingredients:
3/4 cup Turkish bulgur, large grain, washed and drained
1 small-size carrot, peeled, cut in julienne
Leek with the same amount of carrot, cut in julienne
4-5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper paste
1 cup warm water
Salt
Pepper

1 small onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil

Saute the carrot and leeks with olive oil for 5-6 minutes. Add the remaining the pilaf ingredients, stir. Close and cook until all the water evaporates at low heat.

Meanwhile, caramelized the onion with olive oil. Toss into the cooked bulgur pilaf. Let the Pilaf with stand for about 5 minutes. Serve the Bulgur Pilaf with Carrots and Leeks with yogurt or Ayran on the side.
2 servings.

Meat Stuffed Quince Cooked in Grape Molasses

(Pekmezli Ayva Dolması - Nevşehir - Central Anatolia Region)

2 quinces
1/3 cup grape molasses
Water to cover half the quinces

Filling: 150 g medium ground beef
1/4 cup onion, finely sliced
4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Turkish bulgur, medium grain, rinsed and drained
2-3 branches parsley, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, crumbled
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
Parsley, chopped

Saute the ground beef with onion until the colour turns to light brown. Do not overcook! Leave some of the juice in it. Mix with the rest of the filling ingredients.

In the meantime; Cut the quinces in half. Discard the seeds, and make some room for the filling. Cut off a small slice from the bottoms, so they're flat. Heap them up with the filling. Place them in a pan.

Mix the water with molasses and pour into the pot from the side. Cover, first bring to boil then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook until the quinces are tender.

When serving, pour its juice on top of the stuffed quinces with a spoon, garnish with parsley.

2 servings.

Nokul, Fragrant Tahini Bread

(Mis Kokulu Nokul - Isparta - Mediteranian Region)

Dough:
7 g instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk, warm
2 tbsp olive oil
~3 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
1 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, crumbled
Handful dried rose buds
1 tsp clove, ground
1 tsp cinnamon

Garnish:
Egg yolk
Sesame seeds
Nigella seeds

First, dilute the tahini with olive oil. Combine the walnuts, rose buds, clove and cinnamon in a food processor. Then mix the filling ingredients in a bowl.

Melt the yeast with sugar and milk in a bowl. Add the olive oil and flour slowly, knead well. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Cut the dough in half with a knife. Roll out each piece with your hands or with a rolling pin to get a round shape (doesn't have to be perfectly round).

Spread the filling on the doughs equally (picture). Roll them up and cut in 3 cm wide (picture). Close each piece with the open part facing down, knead and turn it into a ball shape. Line them up in a oiled oven proof dish (picture). Let them rest for 30 minutes. Brush egg yolks and sprinkle sesame and Nigella seeds over the tops.

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C) and bake until golden brown.

You can have the nokul as a breakfast with cheese, olives, tomatoes, etc., or with afternoon tea:)

*It is known that some pastries such as yufka and bazlama had been made in the Seljuk period. They were filling the leavened dough with walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame, sometimes beef, sometimes raisins. They made these buns/scones (çörek) with or without sugar and called them nokul-lokul. It is thought that all of these varieties came to Anatolia by Türkmens.

Bulgur-Chickpeas Soup

(Bulgur Çorbası - Aegean Region)

1/4 cup Turkish bulgur, small grain, washed and drained
1 large tomato, peeled, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter or 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken or beef broth
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
1 tsp mint

Saute the tomato with oil until it is softened at medium-low heat. Add the chicken broth, water, bulgur, chickpeas, salt and pepper, stir. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Turn the heat off. Garnish with mint, serve while still warm.

2 servings.

Turnip Stew with Black-Eyed Peas

(Şalgam Aşı - Isparta - Mediterranean Region)

150 - 200 g lean ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped (I used red onion)
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or 1 tbsp butter
2 medium-size turnips, peeled, cut in bite size
1/2 cup black-eyed peas, boiled until softened, drained and rinsed
1 large tomato, grated
~1/2 cup water, hot
Salt
Pepper

Lightly saute the ground beef with onion and olive oil. Add the black-eyed peas and tomato, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes at medium-low heat. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook until the turnip is tender. Do not overcook:)

Serve it with freshly baked Turkish bread and Turkish Yoğurt or Ayran on the side.

2-3 servings.

Eggs with Hot Red Pepper Paste

(Reçelli Yumurta - Urfa - South East Anatolia Region)

2 eggs
1 tsp red pepper paste, sweet
1 tsp red pepper paste, hot
4 + 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a small pan. Break the eggs. Do not scramble the eggs too much. Turn the heat to low. Pour 2 tbsp olive oil in a corner of the pan and dissolve the red pepper pastes. Stir together with the eggs. Do not overcook the eggs!

You can serve the eggs on the toasted bread. This spicy egg dish will warm you up during the cold winter days:)

*In Urfa, "hot red pepper paste" is called "jam"

Kidney Beans Soup with Noodles

(Kuru Fasulyeli Kesme Çorba - Artvin - Black Sea Region)

1/2 cup kidney beans, canned, rinsed with cold water
1/2 cup egg noodles
1 cup beef broth
1 cup water (or more)

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium size tomato, grated
Salt
Pepper

1 small onion, sliced
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp red pepper paste, hot
1 tbsp butter

Place kidney beans, beef broth, water, grated tomato, olive oil, salt and pepper in a medium size pot. Bring to boil at medium heat, add the noodles. Turn the heat down to medium-low.

Meanwhile, soften the onion slices with butter in a small pan. Add the tomato paste and red pepper paste, stir. Continue to saute for 2-3 more minutes. When the noodles are softened, add the onion into the soup. Cook for about 1-2 more minutes, serve.

2 servings.

Shrimps with Swiss Chard and Chickpeas

(Pazılı - Nohutlu Karides)

Bunch of red Swiss chard, washed with the stems cut off*
5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small size onion, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, sliced
3/4 cup chickpeas, canned, rinsed
1/4 cup crushed tomatoes, canned
1 tbsp red pepper paste
~3/4 cup water
Salt
Pepper
10-12 raw tiger shrimps, peel and devein

Garnish:
Red pepper flakes

Put all the leaves on the top of the other, roll, then cut in julienne.

Saute the onion with olive oil for 3-4 minutes in a large pot. Add the garlic when the smell of the garlic comes out, add the rest of the ingredients except shrimp. Cover and cook until all the vegetables are softened . If there is too much juice, turn the heat to higher in order to reduce the amount of water in the pot. Put the shrimps into the pot, cover and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until the shrimps turn to pink.

Then, turn the heat off. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes all over and serve.

2 servings.

*Don't throw the stems, you can use them for the Swiss Chard Stems with Yogurt Sauce:)

Apricot Dessert with Walnuts

(Gasefe - Erzincan - East Anatolia Region)

500 g dried apricots
2 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp sugar

Garnish:
Walnuts, crumbled
Kaymak

Boil the apricots until tender, drain. Melt the butter in a pan and saute the apricots for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar, stir. Saute for a few more minutes.

Serve with walnuts and Kaymak warm or at room temperature.